Hi,
I'm new to fish keeping and have some questions. A month ago I started 29G freshwater tank. My water is turning "milky-green". I read about beneficial bacteria development in a water but when I did a water change I noticed the water is light green. I have plenty of live plants, 2x15W T5 6,500 bulbs for 8hrs everyday. 11 fish in total. I feed them once a day with flakes or dry/live worms. I try to limit 2 flakes per fish.I vacuum the gravel during water change to remove excess of nutrients. Why my water is turning green? Is it an algae bloom? Can anybody explain what's going on? Please, let me know if you need more details.
Thanks.

MoneyMitch

12-03-2009 02:34 AM

this is def due to a nut deficancy and a light imbalance along with a c02 imbalance. you are blasting your tank with light which the plants cannont use because of the lack of nut and c02 which in turn leads to perfect conditions for algae. you have enough light but not enough ferts for the plants so in turn alage uses whats in there and blooms causing green algae. i wish i could refer a GREAT site but per forum rules im not allowed to link to anything other than fishforum.com

you can do the following to help the peoblem which you choose is up to you as all will work.

1. research the estimative index from tom barr and use it
2. get a uv sterilizer and run it for about a month
3. limit your light to about 5-6 hrs a day for a month and if the problem persists limit the light even more

if you have any more questions feel free to send me a pm and dont be mislead by high levels of nitrate being your "main" culprit as this is a problem largly associated with extreme imbalance.

-Money

TS2448

12-03-2009 08:22 AM

Ok, thanks. I'll do research, I found the "Barr method" and will utilize it soon. About the light, I read that for a proper plant growth you need 2W per gallon. I have 1W per gallon. But T5's are much brighter then T12, does it really matter?
Can you give me some advise?
Thanks.

Angel079

12-03-2009 09:23 AM

The one or two watt/gallon is really secondary. What matters most of all is the actual light and its spectrum. A full spectrum or cool white is ideal for a planted tank.

For green algae there's also several suggestions available that one should black out the tank over a week followed by a larger w/c.

Byron

12-03-2009 12:53 PM

As previously mentioned, the key is balance. Light and nutrients have to balance. I do not recommend dosing the tank with ad hoc nutrients according to the Barr EI method because you don't have CO2 and light in balance for that, and the result will be even worse. Mr. Barr comments that his method is best in high-tech tanks with added CO2 and mega-light. In low-tech it is asking for trouble.

Nutrients are 17 in number, and include carbon (from CO2 mostly, sometimes from carbonates), nitrogen (mainly from ammonia/ammonium and less from nitrates) and various minerals in approximate proportion to each other. Plants grow when all these are present, but growth will cease if any one of these factors ceases to be available; this is referred to as Liebig's Law of Minimum which states that plant growth will be limited by the factor necessary for growth that is least available. When this situation arises, the balance is no longer present and algae sometimes takes advantage.

This is common in new tanks, within the first 3+ months, because the biological state of the aquarium has not yet settled. Once it does, this should not occur unless something happens to again upset the balance.

If your lights are T5 HO [High Output], you have way too much light and it will never balance the nutrients. CO2 comes from the fish and certain biological processes, and this is the one nutrient over which the aquarist [of a low-tech or "natural" setup] basically has no control [except by increasing/decreasing the fish load of course]. So the light and other nutrients over which you do have control have to be in balance. One watt of regular (T8/T12 type) fluorescent tubes per gallon is sufficient for good lush plant growth if the nutrients balance. You have a total of 30 watts over a 29g tank. But T5 HO tubes emit approximately 1.5 times the light intensity as regular tubes, so if you have T5 HO you are actually around 45 watts of intensity, and that is too much without everything else in balance, and I suspect your CO2 from the fish is nowhere near this level. So, reduce the light period, or consider different tubes.

If you doubt my advice on 1 watt being more than sufficient, check out the photos of my tanks [under my "Aquariums"]. I have exactly 80 watts of full spectrum (6700K) light over all three tanks. On the 115g and 90g this equates to less than 1 watt per gallon--and look at the growth of the swords. It's all about balance.

Byron.

MoneyMitch

12-03-2009 12:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Angel079
(Post 284420)

The one or two watt/gallon is really secondary. What matters most of all is the actual light and its spectrum. A full spectrum or cool white is ideal for a planted tank.

For green algae there's also several suggestions available that one should black out the tank over a week followed by a larger w/c.

light is a factor in alage growth but not the only cause "blacking out a tank" wont fix your problem in the long run might work for a month but then you will be doing this again.

as far as how much light to have i sent you a pm about the E.I and it has all the info on that if you have any more questions reguarding that let us know and well be here to help~

TS2448

12-03-2009 04:34 PM

I have installed DIY yeast CO2. I've got one bubble let's say per 6sec period, and added a product called "plant food" recently according to the directions on the product label. I guess something went wrong on the way. I have Red Ludwigia, which was originally red, but now leaves are turning green because of poor light condition. Isn't this issue indication that my lights are really poor? And plants cannot process all the nutrients and CO2?
Thanks.

MoneyMitch

12-03-2009 04:47 PM

your lights are fine it is about the other ferts that are your issue couldnt tell you which one but i can tell you that there is too much light and not enough ferts.

Angel079

12-03-2009 06:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MoneyMitch
(Post 284477)

light is a factor in alage growth but not the only cause "blacking out a tank" wont fix your problem in the long run might work for a month but then you will be doing this again.

That's correct, but for starters he needs to get a handle on the algae matter. Then improve his situation with the outta wack balance between his light situation & nutrition. Specially is his Ludweiga turning color, he's clearly need some GOOD fert's there. Look at mine, no extra fert but proper w/c & lights and they grow real well and are beautiful in color...I still say his tank is outta balance....

Hawkian

12-03-2009 06:50 PM

Just as an FYI since I am not sure this would apply to your situation... I had the same problem after about 45 days of being "live" and believed for a few weeks that it was the "bacteria bloom" of the tank cycling. After a few weeks of the water still being green however I seemed apparent to me that this was more than a bacteria bloom. I cracked and used Accuclear, 2 days in a row. Within 48 hours, the tank was sparkly clean! Nothings return since and the water has been clear ever since and I never has to use it again. Best $10 I spent.

Now I am stuck with cyanobacteria but that's another issue best left for another day and completely unrelated to your problem :-)